


One More Light

by Bishoukun



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-01 21:12:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13303314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bishoukun/pseuds/Bishoukun
Summary: Their lives within Paradis are over, but not everyone can leave it behind. Dreams reveal the details of their past lives, and for those who remember when they wake, this world is a second chance they may or may not deserve. How do they change without the unique challenges of Paradis? What parts of them stay the same? How are their relationships with each other affected? Reading this summary won't give you the answers, but maybe the story will.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is named in honor of Chester Bennington with the hopes that he has arrived in a peaceful place of his own.

"Do you think he heard everything?"  
  
"Yes," Petra replied, smiling sadly at the fallen soldier between them. "Look at him... He seems to be resting peacefully."  
  
"Fine then." He sighed quietly and stood, checking again that his hand was clean of the dead man's blood before the sound of approaching hooves drew his attention.  
  
"Levi!" A familiar blond man called to him from behind, his eyes hard. "We're falling back!"  
  
"Falling back?" He sneered. Rage and grief swelled underneath the surface, slipping into his voice as he spoke, threatening to become more than a sharp edge on his tongue.  
  
"Aren't we going to finish this?" Turning towards the blond, he fought against the instinct to form fists with his hands. Instead, the tension manifested as volume, further whetting his words. "Or did my men die for nothing?" A fresh list of names and faces flashed through his mind, and he could feel the warmth on his hand again even though he knew it was clean. He glared defiantly. "Give me one reason to agree."  
  
In counterpoint to Levi's emotional tone, the blond's voice was calculative and devoid of anger or grief. There was no hesitation in his words, consistent with his overall lack of hesitation in almost everything he did. "The titans have all started to move North, towards the city. The wall may have been breached."  
  


* * *

 

  
A jolt ran through Levi's body as he awoke violently, falling off the edge of his bed with an alarmed yelp. For several moments he did not recognize his room or remember what had broke him free of whatever he was dreaming of. When it came back to him, it was in a single rush; a wave that wanted to drown him in sensations of memories that did and did not belong to him. He ran into the hallway bathroom, barely getting the seat of the toilet up before he began to vomit.  
  
"Levi?"  
  
He did not risk turning to face his mother, and he found that even her gentle steps seemed to echo through the room as she drew near. In between his fits of retching, his breaths were shallow and loud.  
  
"Oh, sweetie," Kuchel said in her ever soft voice, sitting down beside the small child and placing her hand to his back, moving it in slow and soothing circles as he trembled beneath her touch. "Levi, my love. I'm here. I've got you."  
  
Levi was racked forward by one final wave before he knew there was nothing else to throw up. He coughed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, feeling a wet cloth against his face. As soon as the cloth was no longer being employed to wash over his mouth, he grabbed onto his mother's shoulders and buried his face into her neck. He didn't try to hold back to sobs, and he didn't try to explain them. He wouldn't have known how to describe everything that had happened, anyway. But he didn't need to. She knew, and she wouldn't dismiss the experience as a childish impression. She knew it was real.  
  
Her hair smelled like mint and lavender, and her arms held him close as they guarded him with warmth, her fingers combing through his hair without a rhythm. She was safe. She was safe, and he was safe because he was with her. If he was in her arms, he was not in that horrible world. That world, he had learned the first time he had been there, did not have her in it as she was here; holding him, warm, and alive.  
  
Kuchel lifted him into her arms several minutes later, holding him against her chest as she stood from the bathroom floor. His sobs had softened, head resting tiredly on her shoulder. The cotton comforter of her bed welcomed them as she settled in its center, kissing Levi's forehead as he curled into her as tightly as he could manage. Returning to sleep would likely be impossible, but she would shelter him through the night and comfort him as much as he needed. Tomorrow would be another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This short prologue is the beginning of what I hope to be a fun story where we can learn about the characters together. Please leave any constructive thoughts, predictions, and thoughts in the comments below.


	2. [Chapter Title]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering love is a complicated affair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TEMP: This is un-beta'd and will likely have additions to it later, but it's 2AM and I couldn't sleep until I wrote this out, so might as well share it even it it's a WIP.  
> 2ND TEMP: I'm adding the beginning of the present-day scene, and will have another scene transitioned into later on.

Levi didn't give the officer any response to the news, not sparing the time to bother doing so before he sprinted off down through the the soldiers flooding home. It should have hurt. Every harsh step against the ground should have pulsed a wave of pain from his knee; the adrenaline and shock acted as a temporary shield that wouldn't take long to break once he reached Erwin.

 _That piece of shit_ , he internally swore, _what the fuck did he think he was doing?!_ Truthfully, Levi knew exactly what the man had been doing. Erwin had not been familiar enough with the capabilities of the men surrounding him on the field when he acted. He had overestimated them, even while acknowledging that none of them came close to Levi's skill. _He doesn't have Mike as a shadow anymore,_ he added to his rushed thoughts.

He could hear Erwin before he could see him. Of course. The medical team would have to be working fast, and he was already in dire straights before getting back within the walls. It was a sound that made Levi's entire body freeze with a dark, eerie chill. _Move_ , he commanded himself, _move!_

Jerking himself free of the ice, he raced to Erwin's side. Seeing the blond in such horrendous condition made him feel sick and furious, though his expression and voice were soft. There was no need to ask the medics surrounding them anything. They would work around him and say if he needed to do something differently. Sitting beside him, Levi grasped the wet cheek and forced Erwin's eyes to lock with his own. In the momentary pause, a silent agreement was made among all of them. Levi would do what they would be unable to, and none of them would ever acknowledge anything they saw transpire between the two men.

It was not the first time Levi had held someone down like this. Living in the underground city had given him plenty of such experiences. But it had never been someone he loved. Nothing he said held to memory; just the dark hue of Erwin's blue eyes and the desperate voice the man used to say his name. By the time the worst of it was over, Levi was leaning over him, silencing the wrenching sound of his name. He didn't remember the feeling of it when he pulled away as the medics finished. He did remember the feeling of his fingers, though, slowly brushing back the damp hair.

"Levi..."

"Don't you dare try and talk," he warned with the same unusual softness in his voice. "Don't thank me, either. I ought to kill you myself for this, Erwin. I'll throw you right back over the wall if you're any trouble."

He hadn't expected Erwin to smile, as weary and forced as it was. It was a loophole to Levi's demands, a way of thanking him without actually doing so. He should have been furious. Instead, he found himself smiling back.

* * *

Tuesdays had the best chances of being able to convince Levi to skip out on classes, which wasn't hard to begin with until his second official strike of the year. The ill-tempered teenager had a tendency towards sudden spurs of violence, and his secondary school had only tolerated it for so long before declaring an ultimatum: three reports on him within a single year and he would be expelled. Of course, that meant a report had to actually be made, which the other students hadn't caught onto until last year. Teachers had, of course, but most of them didn't hold Levi's attendance over his head very often. Tuesday block teachers were the most lenient, which meant a good deal of Tuesdays were spent in town instead of a classroom.

"How are you still able to wear all of that?"

"All of what?"

"That," said Farlan as he gestured to what his friend was wearing.

"Because I'll be cold if I don't."

"If anyone else were covered in so much fabric, people would look at them suspiciously. They should look at you that way, but you make it look normal on you."  
  
It was early February, but spring seemed to be coming early this year. Most of the people passing the small cafe table no longer saw the need for heavier jackets or layers, which should have made Levi stand out for wearing two shirts and a hoodie. To his credit, the jacket was unzipped. Farlan was still trying to understand how the brunet could make himself fade into his surroundings. He'd always been able to, often unintentionally.  
  
_No, not always_ , Farlan corrected himself silently. _Not this time. Maybe not then, either._ He caught himself about to ask if Kenny had drilled in the accidental skill, and bit his tongue. Levi, looking across the street as he sipped tea from his cup, hadn't noticed the slip up. Following his line of sight, he spotted a tall man browsing a shop window. _That explains why he's being quiet._

"Will you quit ignoring me to check out that guy already?" Farlan's exasperated tone broke his train of thought, and he glanced up at the blond sitting across from him. His elbow was on the table, chin resting against his fist, giving Levi an annoyed look.

"Seriously," he continued, heaving a sigh as his friend's eyes moved back across the street. "What is it with you and blonds? I think I'm the only one who you haven't looked at that way."

"What are you talking about?" Levi returned his attention to Farlan as the man across the street entered into a cab.

"I mean you look at blonds like, I don't know," he said, waiving his free hand in a brief circle as he searched for a comparison to make. "Like a kid stares at a new toy, only it's not the exact version of it they want. It's why you never have any boyfriends."

Levi stared for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "You do realize I've never actually tried to get one, right? I'm not inter-"

"Yes," Farlan said with a more serious expression. "You are interested, Levi. Just not with anyone you've seen."

Crossing his arms, Levi leaned back against the wicker-backed chair and looked across the street again defensively. "What makes you so sure?"

"I told you," pointed out Farlan. "It's like you're searching for someone in particular, and just use what you have in front of you as temporary stand-ins."

Levi huffed. "That is not what you said. It's bullshit, anyway. I'm not looking for anyone."

"Yeah, okay." Farlan shook his head, withholding another sigh. He could see the pained longing that Levi tried to mask, and it made him wonder. There had only ever been one man to repeatedly rile Levi while simultaneously stealing his focus, and that man had been blond. But could that fierce hostility have really turned into this? A part of him wanted to ask, to know what happened in Levi's story after his part in it had ended. To do so would mean revealing his deception, however, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is always appreciated! What do you like and dislike about this so far? What are you hoping to see from it in the future? (Such as many short chapters, or fewer longer ones with multiple scenes?)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This short prologue is the beginning of what I hope to be a fun story where we can learn about the characters together. Please leave any constructive thoughts, predictions, and thoughts in the comments below.


End file.
